I Am Not A Liability
by peachappeal
Summary: What if Sarah didn't suffer from her anxiety disorder from the start? And what if Carlos had taught her how to shoot a gun and survive? (Cover image by Cosi-chan22 on Deviant Art.)


**A/N: SPOLERS AHEAD!**

***SPOILERS* First off, I thought Sarah's death scene was a major fucking disappointment. I felt like Telltale was trolling us when it came to her death scene. Like, regardless of your choices, she still dies. I wish that we would've had an option of a mercy kill or whatever, cuz who the fuck wants to remember her as another girl who got eaten by walkers. No one, that's who.**

**This is just a little prologue, you know, taking place pre-season 2. I decided to write this story without Sarah suffering from her anxiety, and her father teaching her all the techniques she needed to survive in an apocalypse. That way, she won't be seen as a liability to the group. Let me know what you think of this idea though.**

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><p>How could this happen?<p>

How could all of this madness had start to happen?

I was about thirteen at the time all this had started, and it hasn't been easy for my dad and me. I had lost my mother, and he had lost his wife. We evacuated our home immediately, my dad hoping that he could find a safe and better place for me. But it didn't work.

We had run into this other survivor at the time, a woman. Overweight, short, an African-American woman. She had made us an offer. An offer that seemed like it'd be too good to be true. She offered to take us to a hardware store, filled with food, water, everything we needed to survive. Skeptical at first, this seemed like our only option. We had to take it. We were both short on food and supplies.

We both accepted it, and from there, she took us to a hardware store in her pickup truck. But she missed out on one very important detail. Yes, the hardware store was filled with food, supplies, and water. But, she never told us that we had to become workers or, "Slaves," in the hardware store. We had met a few people who worked in the hardware store as slaves, named Luke, Nick, Alvin, Rebecca, and Pete. They, along with us, we were the only prisoners of the community. Carver, the leader of this, "Camp," at the hardware store forced us to do our work, or else, he, or one of his guards would either beat us up or kill us. I figured he was a psycho path soon later. My dad had stood up for himself, and Carver had beat his face in very badly, without showing any emotion of the bloody mess he had made.

I couldn't sleep at night after that had happened. I kept crying over the beating Carver had given to my dad. He gave him such a large cut on his cheek, looking like half his face was beaten in.

And to top it all off, I had gotten bullied every day at the hardware store by this girl named Becca, who guided me through all the chores I had to do in the day. She wasn't necessarily considered as a "guard" at the place, but her older sister, Shel, was. She was about the same age as me, Becca, but she would always degrade me, treating me as if I were eight or something. I was afraid to ask her for any help at all, feeling as if she might patronize me or something. She also gave me a hard time, as I cried over my dad's wounded face, calling me a "baby." I didn't say anything back; I kept quiet to her insults. But secretly, I just felt like bursting out to cry over her insults.

And Troy, he was just as bad as Becca; but worse. He was older, a scumbag. He didn't care if he had to use pain on you to make you do your own chores. However, no one seemed to like him. Not even Carver. Like Becca, he thinks I'm a baby. Instead of patronizing me, he just bluntly insulted me.

We all stayed there for about one to two months. But one day, my dad and I had gathered around along with Luke, Nick, Alvin, Rebecca, and Pete at night in our poor sleeping place, considering it was I the outdoors, only surrounded by the fence to keep us from escaping of some way. We all had brainstormed ways of getting out of this 'prison.' Luke had mentioned that he had been talking to one of the hardware store guards, Reggie, and how he was willing to help us escape. It wasn't the smartest plan at all, meaning that it may end up getting us all killed. But it was worth trying. He had mentioned that, for the next night, most of the guards will be asleep, leaving one inside the hardware store and another one or two outside.

It was worth trying it out, at least. That night when we had all pretended to fall asleep, Reggie had opened the gate to our "bedroom," signaling to all of us that the coast was clear. We all rushed out of there, standing by the entrance of the hardware store. Reggie wished us all the best of luck; persisting us to hurry before anyone notices us.

We managed to get out successfully, but we were lucky. If it weren't for Reggie, we may have never gotten out of the hardware store alive. We walked and walked, going deeper into the forest searching for a place to stay. We stopped a couple of times, for Rebecca mostly, deeming by her pregnancy.

Eventually, we found this huge cabin out in the woods. You couldn't miss it. We checked the inside, which seemed pretty abandoned. None of those… Lurkers, as Luke would say, were inside. No people. We all assumed that it was safe to stay inside. Inside the house, there was plenty of food and water, enough for all of us. There was enough bedrooms, working showers, and working toilets. The downside was that there was no electricity or anything – by the cabin had plenty of candles and activities to keep yourself entertained. We were all so elated to find a place that seemed safe and that satisfied most of our needs… for now.

When the food supply would run low, Nick and Pete would go to the nearby pond to fish for a couple of fishes to eat for the night. But one day, my dad had taken me there, but this time, wielding two pistols in his hand. He had the expression of nervousness over his face, and he swallowed as if he had a tight knot stuck in his throat. We reached the lake. He had the most petrified expression I had ever seen on his face.

"Dad, why did you bring me here to the lake?" I asked.

He placed his palm over his forehead. "Sarah, I really hoped that it didn't have to come to this; teaching you how to shoot guns and all," He began, "To me, you're still my little girl. And, it breaks my heart when it comes to this. I had never thought I had to start teaching you how to shoot guns at such a young age," He says, handing me a pistol. "But you need to learn how to protect yourself, sweetie, from those _things, _or possibly even people. I'm not always gonna be there to protect you, Sarah. I'm am very sorry we are having this talk, but you have to know sooner or later."

I nodded, examining the heavy pistol. "So, um, how do I use it?"

"You want to have your arm relaxed," He instructed, moving his hands to bend my elbows. "You hold the gun out in front of you, and you take a deep breath in just before you're about to pull the trigger."

"What do I shoot?" I inquired.

"Hmmm, let me see…." He started, searching the location for any targets, his eyes ogling over to one little bunny. "Here, shoot that."

"What?!" I perked up. "I don't want to shoot that cute, little bunny!"

"How else are you gonna learn then, Sarah?"

"I don't know! Just, please don't make me shoot that cute little bunny," I pleaded. "Anything else, just not that."

He sighed deeply in frustration. "Fine, the target is too small anyways. Are you willing to shoot that deer over there?"

"Dad, I don't want you to make me kill animals. Maybe I could shoot the trunk of that tree over there?" I suggested, pointing at the skinny trunk of the small tree.

"That won't work Sarah, and I'm not asking you to kill the deer, just shoot its body."

"No. I would rather shoot that lurker over there, by the end of the pond, than kill a defenseless animal," I expressed, pointing at the groaning lurker body.

"That really would work," He admitted. "Try to shoot at that."

I nodded, aiming my pistol at the walker's body, pulling the trigger. A loud gunshot had rang through the air.

"EEK!" I shrieked, dropping the pistol to the ground. I glanced up too see if I shot the lurker, only to see its head turn over and face the both of us, gradually approaching us.

"Sarah, what's wrong?" He asks.

"I don't know, I just panicked, okay?" I murmured, hearing the lurker groans growing louder and louder.

"Shit," He muttered, watching the lurker make its way towards us. "Sarah, grab the gun, and shoot it."

"Dad…. I don't know –"

"Sarah, look at me," He insisted, "I want you to know that you should never be afraid to pull the trigger. If you don't, it might even cost your life."

I picked up the pistol, staring at the approaching lurker. "Dad, I'll shoot it," I gulped, aiming the barrel at the walker.

***Bang***

The noise rang through the air, the bullet piercing the lurker's neck. It didn't kill it, but at least it slowed it down.

"Good, one more time," He observed.

Raising the gun to the lurker's head, I pulled the trigger.

***Bang***

The bullet had pierced the eye socket, causing it to tremble down to the floor. My hands ached as I pulled the trigger, and my head hurt.

"Good, well done," He praised.

I held my arm out along with the gun, hoping that he'd take it. He shook his head. "No Sarah. It is now yours. You keep it."

I nodded, letting the gun swing freely out of my right hand. "Dad?"

"What is it Sarah?"

"Am I going to have to shoot someone with this?" I questioned.

He pondered for a moment, looking away from me for a brief second. "Only if they go out of their way and try to hurt you."


End file.
